Giants continue march to .500 with 27-13 win against Packers

The Giants’ improbable march to the playoffs continued Sunday with a 27-13 win over the shorthanded Packers for their fourth straight victory.

Andre Brown muscled his way to 66 yards on 18 carries against the Packers.Credit: Getty Images

The Giants’ improbable march to the playoffs continued Sunday with a 27-13 win over the shorthanded Packers for their fourth straight victory.

They became the first team to improve to 4-6 after starting 0-6 since the 2009 Titans. Those Titans finished 8-8 and missed out on the playoffs though.

With the Cowboys on a bye week and the Eagles downing the Redskins, the Giants are just one game down in the loss column to Philadelphia. They play the Eagles in two weeks, coming off their bye.

We take a look at what went right for the Giants in the win:

1. Down with JPP

With all of the momentum turning toward the Packers, Jason Pierre-Paul came up with a potentially season-saving play. Eddie Lacy had just made it a 20-13 game with 12:52 left in the game and an Eli Manning sack led to a punt. But Pierre-Paul leapt in front of Scott Tolzien’s pass, plucked it out of midair and waltzed untouched into the end zone to give the game its final margin. Pierre-Paul has had a down season (just two sacks), but he might’ve made its biggest play Sunday.

2. Good Weather

Punter Steve Weatherford was a disaster for the Giants last week. In addition to a partially blocked punt, he shanked two others. But he gave the Packers and their inexperienced QB poor field position all game Sunday. He averaged 53.3 yards per punt and downed one inside the 20.

3. Brownout

It is becoming quickly apparent just how much the Giants offense missed Andre Brown while he was out with a fractured leg. He was great in his return last week, but his workmanlike performance on Sunday is something they can count on. He had 66 yards on 18 carries, but his run 2-yard run late in the third quarter was the biggest. He carried multiple defenders to the goal line after being hit in the back field.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter@MetroNYSports.